Car Review: 2005 Smart Fortwo

By Paul Williams, Canwest News Service

Originally published: August 10, 2011

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

It didn’t take long for the phone to start ringing at Ottawa’s Ogilvie Motors after the decision to bring the Smart to Canada was announced last February.

“Basically, we’ve got a list of deposits,” says Ogilvie’s sales manager, Mark Savoie. “We’ll probably sell 30 to 40 cars by the end of the year but they’re all spoken for. If you want one for next summer, now’s the time to call.”

It’s the same at Star Motors, Ottawa’s only “Smart Centre” (a separate facility attached to a Mercedes-Benz dealership). There, sales manager Paul Waite has pre-sold his inventory of Fortwo models and has several dozen buyers on a waiting list. “But we will have demonstrators, and you might see some extra vehicles arrive from Mercedes,” he adds.

With deliveries starting this month and 1,000 deposits on the books, Canada’s initial allocation of 1,000 Smarts has already been raised to 1,200 Fortwo coupes and open-top cabriolets (split 55/45 respectively). Ottawa will see 15 to 20 Smarts allocated per month through its two dealerships.

Bottom line? Now’s not the time to dicker.

But just so you know, the car’s not a Mercedes. Nor is it electric (another misconception; it’s actually diesel powered). The brand is Smart, spelled officially with a small “s,” and it will be sold through Mercedes-Benz dealerships.

Consequently, don’t expect Mercedes luxury and doors that close with a thunk in a Smart. Yes, it’s well-built (at a plant in France), and it features snappy Jetson’s styling, but its $16,500 starting price for the coupe is commensurate with the product you’re buying.

The intangibles, however — the genuinely eye-popping look, the clever technology, the bold statement you’ll make — are worth whatever you’re willing to pay. Add a convertible top, and you pretty much cause a sensation when you take to the road in the cabriolet, which starts at $19,500.

After testing a Smart coupe earlier this year, I recently had a chance to try out the cabriolet. Naturally, my first act was to drop the power canvas roof, which operates in two stages. It retracts, creating a large sunroof, and if you want the full convertible, you stop the car, get out and remove the two side roof rails (these store behind the seat). This permits the top to fully unlatch from the B-pillars and to drop, targa-style, below the line of sight from your rearview mirror.

The roof has a soft plastic rear window (no defroster, therefore) that folds along with the top.

From inside the car with roof lowered, it feels like you’re simply driving a small rag-top. But check the faces of pedestrians and other motorists as you drive by, to get some idea of the impression (and commotion) you’re making. Most people love it — they point, they laugh, they run to fetch friends — and the rest have expressions that say, “Now I’ve seen everything.”

Available in three ascending levels of trim called Pure, Pulse and Passion, standard and optional equipment for coupe and cabriolet includes air conditioning, compact disc player, power windows, remote keyless entry, rear wiper and a sunroof. Everything inside the car is full-size (if occasionally whimsical in design), but it’s externally that the Smart’s dimensions dramatically diverge from the norm.

The vehicle is 2,500 millimetres in length, 1,515 mm wide and 1,549 tall. In comparison, the (new) Mini, formerly the smallest vehicle sold in North America, is 3,626 mm long, 1,688 mm wide and 1,408 mm tall.

It is, as many people are quick to inform you with a grin on their face, “half a car.”

But kidding aside, is it enough of a car?

On the road the 40-horsepower, 0.8-litre diesel engine makes the Smart an effective short-haul commuter or runabout to pick up groceries, attend meetings and the like. On the highway, its heavily sprung accelerator pushes back on your foot, often causing you to unintentionally decelerate. There’s no cruise-control available, and that would certainly help.

The six-speed transmission (Softip is the manual and “automatic” version; Softouch is the manual only) is not as quick through the gears as a conventional manual or automatic. The automatic mode causes the Smart to dive and lurch as it shifts from one gear to the next, and it’s very slow to downshift. Consequently, I preferred the manual mode, which shifts to the gear you want more quickly and smoothly.

Having driven a Smart coupe and cabriolet on the highway from Ottawa to Montreal and back (400-kilometres return, at a cost of $5 one-way, I should point out), I can attest that they’ll do this kind of trip without problem. However, as a regular highway driver, frankly I’d prefer something else.

Smarts are tiresome to drive long distances, I found. Situate a Smart behind a large truck or a bus, and it gets positively hinky on you, as the front wheels lift and the vehicle gets pushed around in the turbulent air. Other small vehicles are prone to this, but not to the same extent.

Smarts are much more at home in town. There’s decent room for two, along with their coats and a couple of bags. It’ll hold groceries for two as well, but not for the week unless they’re light eaters.

Parking is a breeze. Watching people trying to manoeuvre a big sport-utility makes you wonder why they need all that vehicle for simple local chores. Smarts just about disappear beside something like a Ford Excursion or Nissan Armada.

Which brings us to the subject of safety. Even though vehicles have downsized over the years, a collision with a full-sized SUV would suggest particular peril for the tiny Smart’s occupants. Perhaps surprisingly, the Smart has excelled in crash tests (both in-house and independent).

Tests have included a frontal crash at 65 km/h against a deformable barrier, rear-end crash at 55 km/h, side crash at 50 km/h and car-to-car crashes (head-on and offset) between the Smart and an upper standard-size car (Mercedes-Benz E-Class and S-Class). According to the Mercedes Car Group, in more than 50 crash tests, the Smart provided greater occupant safety than in other small cars.

In addition to the steel safety cell that forms the structural foundation of the Smart, you get a range of sophisticated electronic aids, including anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, hydraulic brake assist and electronic brake force distribution.

It’s no toy, that’s for sure.

But don’t forget, for $16,500 (let alone $19,500 for the cabriolet) you can buy a very well- equipped Toyota Echo Hatchback, a Mazda3 sedan or a Honda Civic. They won’t have the same cachet, I grant you, but if you’re thinking the Smart’s a bargain, these are some comparably priced options that offer you a lot more car for the money. The Smart cabriolet will be the cheapest convertible on the road, however.

Perhaps ideal for city dwellers who require a handy vehicle for short trips, the Smart may interest buyers who don’t need much room, are unlikely to have more than one passenger, want something inexpensive to operate and easy to park, and don’t typically drive long distances.

The cabriolet adds even more flair (if that’s possible), and you won’t go far without a crowd forming around either of the Smart cars.

If the time is right for the Smart, expect more manufacturers to introduce micro cars to our market in the near future.